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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. chest — a box
  3. spell — letters
  4. last — to go on
  5. lean — thin
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. chest — of your body
  8. suit — in cards
  9. lean — to bend
  10. spell — a short time
  11. suit — to fit
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. court — of a king
  14. board — a committee
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of law
  17. board — to get on
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. spell — magic
  20. suit — clothes
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. last — finally
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com